Rioting in Los Angeles

I am shocked, disgusted and totally disappointed by the irresponsible, inflammatory statements issued by Mayor Bradley, Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner and other so-called leaders of the Los Angeles area regarding the results of the trial of the officers in the King case. These totally irresponsible statements show that these people had already convicted the officers based on the sensationalism of the news coverage. None of these people heard the entire testimony and their public statements after the verdict was announced are totally indefensible.

The jurors on this case have carefully listened to three months of evidence and reached a unanimous conclusion on all but one count. For the leaders of the community to not support the decision reached by the 12 honest, law-abiding citizens is a disgrace. The statements, in my opinion, helped to incite the lawless outbreak we have witnessed in the South Los Angeles area.

I thank God that the jurors were strong enough to render a rational verdict based on their analysis of the evidence and were not swayed by emotion or the sensationalism generated by the media coverage of this case.

PATRICK J. FAZIO JR., Camarillo